This entry is somewhat of an update to my other posts about lip balms, glosses, stains, and all that delicious stuff. Click here, and here to check them out!

Since that post, I’ve tried several lip balms, and the majority of them have not resulted in the gross post-surgery lips, as I tend to call them. Read on to find out what I’ve used, love, and other products I want to try!

While their products are catered moreso to guys, Jack Black makes a fabulous line of skin care products, and they also make lip balms. These give your lips somewhat of a glossy sheen, and the different varieties are very tasty combinations! I have tried two of their lip balms. Vanilla Lavender, and Grapefruit Ginger. Both of these were great, but I preferred the Vanilla Lavender. A great plus about these balms: most of them are gluten-free and fragrance-free! Other intriguing flavours include Lemon & Chamomile, and Black Tea & Blackberry. All their balms have SPF 25, and my lips absolutely adored them. They sell for $7.50 a piece on Jack Black’s website, or you can purchase a kit, such as their cleverly-named Balm Squad, for $25 (which includes FOUR of these goodies). Their website also displays the ingredients for each of the different lip balms.

I will definitely consider purchasing these again! Love, love, love!

For those who follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me pimping out Desert Essence’s lip balms. I first discovered their Tea Tree Oil Therapeutic Lip Balm, and was so excited to find a more affordable lip balm that agreed with my lips. They say this is good for cold sores and cracked lips. I can’t comment on the cold sores ( tea tree oil is antibacterial and healing, so that makes sense), but it definitely kept my lips moisturized and in a happy, healthy state. The second lip balm from Desert Essence that I’ve tried and loved (even more than the tea tree oil), was the Lip Rescue Moisturizing with Jojoba Oil. The smell is so refreshingly subtle, and it kept my lips so nice and moisturized. My boyfriend didn’t enjoy the tea tree oil lip balm, because it had a weird taste whenever he kissed me. And the jojoba lip balm was much more mild. It really comes down to personal preference with these products! I find tea tree oil very intense, so I like to switch it up between these two.

Vitacost had a sale on Desert Essence products, so last night I picked up FIVE of Desert Essence’s Lip Rescue Ultra Hydrating with Shea Butter lip balms, which I have not tried yet! Two for myself, and THREE for my boyfriend. They were a whopping $1.18 a piece – which totally blew my mind.

Desert Essence is a brand that has never let me down. I also see they sell lip tints (Vanilla Chai, anyone!?), if you’re looking for something with colour (I much prefer a nude lip on me) for $5.99 each! I can’t comment on whether they would work well on sensitive lips, but I’d say it’s worth a try!

There you have it – these are the winning lip products that I consider to be my favourites. There are others, however, that I feel deserve some level of honourable mention:

I did a review on the products from this awesome company. You can check that out here. These products are vegan, cruelty-free, and their assortment of flavours are to die for! Their collections include inspirations of Soda Pop, Fall, Tea, and – HOLY SHIT – a new holiday Gingerbread lip balm! At $3.49 a piece, they are quite wallet-friendly. Their collections expanded to include lip tints they call HibisKiss, which I have never tried, but would love to hear what people have to say about them.

I’ve yet to try this, but I have heard people rave about how well it keeps lips moisturized and healthy in the most intense conditions. It is gluten-free, and the ingredients include goodies like rosemary leaf oil, castor seed oil, and shea butter.

While it is relatively expensive (at $14 CAD per tube), the tube is significantly larger than most lip balm sizes (I’d say it is about double). The lavender in this balm soothes the lips like none other, and it is this lip balm that got my lips healed and back to fabulous after my first horrible reaction in early 2011.

I hope this has helped all of you out there with sensitive lips. You definitely don’t have to be limited to using your mother’s vaseline – there are plenty of options!

After hearing from some mindful readers that Tom’s of Maine is no longer 100% cruelty-free (as they’ve been bought by a company that does test), I decided to take a look at other natural toothpastes. Newco‘s toothpaste is cruelty-free, gluten, fluoride, and sulphate free (and also made in Canada)! I’m going to try it before I sleep tonight, and I have never been so crazy excited to brush my teeth before. Ooh, the tea tree oil! I look forward to trying more of their goodies.

And I don’t give two shits if you call me a hippie for buying patchouli scented deodorant. Not only was this stuff on sale, but it claims to be aluminum, paraben, artificial fragrance, cruelty, and gluten-free! Patchouli is an extremely relaxing scent, and this deodorant goes on so smoothly and smells like a dream.

The stevia was something I picked up because I’ve been curious about it for a long time. I’m not a low-carber, but I’m always looking for different sweeteners that aren’t artifical and shite like aspartame. 4 drops of this in my green tea, and that is all I need!

As for the triphala, it is a very common tonic / cleanse used in Ayurvedic medicine (for the moms: Dr Oz spoke about it, so go buy it already). It helps with digestion, and can be added to smoothies, juice, etc. I wouldn’t advise drinking it with water, unless you’re ready to have a “damn, that was nasty” look on your face for a few hours. It’s often sold in capsules, but it is more expensive that way.

Expect feedback on the toothpaste and deodorant! Let’s hope I never stink again.